Who Are We?
Looking for a place to feel welcome? You found it! Winterville United Methodist Church is here for you. We are an active small-town church just minutes from the city of Athens, Georgia. It is a place where people can feel comfortable and has groups for people of all ages and all needs.
We do our best to make people feel welcome, and our warm atmosphere makes the Winterville United Methodist Church a place to which people enjoy coming. It is a place where people are loved, wanted and needed. We're all about relationships...with God and with people.
At Winterville United Methodist Church, you can find a place to call home. Though we aren't perfect, we serve a loving God who accepts us as we are and invites us to discover abundant life through Him. Come and be loved!
At Winterville United Methodist Church, we strive to be an authentic, loving people who seek to make disciples of Jesus Christ by loving God and loving others.
We live out this mission by serving persons of various ages, race, economic status, and sexual orientation both inside and outside the church through worship; Bible Study; outreach events to our community; missions to our community, country and world; and fellowship opportunities.
Want to learn more about United Methodism? There's training for that at United Methodism 101
Meet Our Staff
Rev. John Turlington, Pastor
E-mail: turliebird@gmail.com
Rev. John McRae Turlington completed his Master of Divinity from Erskine Theological Seminary in (May 1993), where he was awarded top honors in his graduating class. He also holds a Master of Arts in English from Clemson University (August 1986) and a Bachelor of Arts in English from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (May 1983). He is a Tar Heel through and through. Go Heels!
In seminary he served as Associate Campus Minister for the Baptist Student Ministries at Clemson University (1990-93). Following graduating seminary, he served as Associate Pastor of Education and Youth at Commerce First Baptist Church (January 1994-June 2002). He has served as Assistant Pastor/Minister to Youth, Young Adults and Men at Watkinsville First United Methodist Church (July 2002-2011); Associate Pastor of Missions, Education and Small Groups at Tuckston UMC (2011-2014); Associate Pastor of Education and Children at Saint Mark UMC in Atlanta (2014-2016).
The North Georgia United Methodist Church transferred John’s ordination from the Baptist denomination to the United Methodist Church in 2014, where he now serves as Elder in full connection. As an elder, John has served as pastor-in-charge at Moreland UMC (2016-2019), Mossy Creek UMC in Cleveland, GA (2019-2022) and now serves the lovely congregation of Winterville UMC.
John is originally from Fayetteville, North Carolina, where his mother and brother still reside. John and his wife, Anita, Associate Professor of English at the University of North Carolina (Gainesville Campus), have one son, John, who is married to Sara Beth. John and Sara Beth are both attorneys in Nashville; they live in East Nashville. John, who is called “Granddaddy,” has two lovely, lively and creative grandchildren: Abby and Thomas.
Tom Bouknecht, Music Director
Tom Bouknecht was born April 27th, 1949 in Troy, Ohio. At the age of 3, his family moved to St. Petersburg, FL, where he was raised. He graduated from Boca Ciega High School in 1967. He earned his BME degree from St. Leo College in Florida in 1971, with a double major in voice and piano.
In 1971, after graduation, he enlisted in the US Army and was stationed at Hunter Army Airfield/Fort Stewart with the 80th Army and then the 94th Infantry Division Band.
After he was discharged, he took a job with the Baldwin Piano and Organ Company in Athens, Georgia and worked with Consolidate Freight and Watkins Moto Lines until starting with the US Postal Service in 1987. He retired as postmaster in Stephens, GA.
He has served as Music Director at several United Methodist Churches.
New To The Area?
Athens Banner Herald, City of Winterville, Census Reports, Athens-Clarke County Online
Map & Directions To Our Church
Accommodations
From out of town? There are plenty of Hotel accommodations and local restaurants in nearby Athens, just 7 miles away. Athens Convention & Visitors Bureau
As always, please feel free to contact us.